Hungary must not become ultimate migrant destination, says Foreign Minister

In light of Austria’s new anti-migration policy, Hungary can only avoid becoming the collection point for migrants “if we do not allow migrants to enter the country now and after the election”, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said in Tapolca, in western Hungary, on Friday.

Szijjártó noted that the Austrian interior minister had announced a policy to cut the number of asylum applications submitted in Austria to zero.

“This means that if there’s a change of power in Hungary after the April 8 election that ushers in a pro-migration government, then Hungary could easily become a collection point for the migrant population, since arrivals would not be able to move on to western Europe,” the minister told public media.

To ensure that not a single migrant enters Hungary, the work of the current government must continue, he said.

Szijjártó gave warning that migration pressure was still present. In Africa and the Middle East, tens of millions of people are internally displaced or already on the move and receiving humanitarian aid. They could decide to migrate at any time, he said. “And if they start out, they will head towards Europe.”